Actually... I thought I have read the post a gazillion times, but I guess I didn't read it closely enough. My setup now (with the shift lever bend towards the front of the car) seems to be the same as post 132 from HRC/Danny... and HRC indicated that's actually the wrong way?

Danny, now that you had it flipped around. Would you say that the other way is the correct way?

Actually... I thought I have read the post a gazillion times, but I guess I didn't read it closely enough. My setup now (with the shift lever bend towards the front of the car) seems to be the same as post 132 from HRC/Danny... and HRC indicated that's actually the wrong way?

Danny, now that you had it flipped around. Would you say that the other way is the correct way?

I went ahead and swapped it around and drove it around quite a bit yesterday and it's all good now. I don't know why I thought it was more notchy than it should be the first time around. But it's good now.

Anyways... since I did this DIY 4 times, all to switch the orientation of the shift lever around, I figure I offer some information that could help out others.

1. One of the important tip offered by others is to work on this DIY when the car is cool because you'll be close to the exhaust. But the rubber boot is a pain to remove when it's cold. So if you plan to work on this yourself, you could do the first part of the DIY (removing shift knob and boot) while the car is warm. The heat of the car will soften the rubber and make it easier to work with and remove.

2. Circlip. I find it easier to remove when inside the car. Just rotate the circlip around such that the "opening" is facing up (inside the car) and while sitting inside the car just take 2 screw drivers and push the circlip out.

3. There are a lot of tip here trying to suggest the correct orientation of the short shifter lever. Basically the bend should be facing towards the front of the car... this may be true for the 335, but in my case (e90 - 330) the correct orientation for the bend is actually towards the rear the car. Like everyone said here, there really is only two ways to install this, so if it's not correct one way, than it must be the other way. The symptom for the 330 when the lever is installed wrong is that when you put the lever in 1/3/5, the lever will be too close to the front trim such that it almost touches.

All in all, once done the short shifter is great! I love it. Much better than stock. However, I stuck with the OEM knob, I actually like the height of the shifter the way it is now (short lever + OEM knob). I am not sure if I would like it even shorter by putting in a shorter knob.

Use it in a race car!! The E30 was pretty much all good, except the old shifter "spun around" ... not good someone must have thought it was a Honda and tried to "unscrew it" at some point. Problem easily fixed!!

I just have to remind myself not to shift into "6th". Hell, the car is slow enough I never get out of fourth.

Very helpful post! One thing that I found was that I was having a lot of trouble getting the pin of the selector rod into the hole/bearing at the base of the SSK lever while I was seated in the car...I would get it seated in the hole, but no matter what I tried, I couldn't push it through (I even managed to bend back the metal of the trans tunnel a tiny bit with the screwdriver while trying to get the pin through the hole.

With the selector rod pin still seated at the tip of the SSK hole/bearing, I went back under the car with a set of long needle nose pliers, and pinched the selector rod and SSK together...and it worked like a charm! If I had to do it all over again, I would've gone straight for underneath the car, as I was able to easily see where the two lined up, was able to modulate the selector rod very easily with the long needle nose pliers, and I was able to guide it right in without any fishing or forcing.

Just my .02 to make the install that much easier...and it's not like getting back under the car adds any extra effort, considering you have to get under the car to add the circlip anyway.

If i want to do the cheaper the SSK w/ the boot and knob on my E90 335i, should i order the 328i kit or 330i kit? I know the 335i kit comes with the carrier piece, but if i can save the money, why not?!

If i want to do the cheaper the SSK w/ the boot and knob on my E90 335i, should i order the 328i kit or 330i kit? I know the 335i kit comes with the carrier piece, but if i can save the money, why not?!

I just did this mod on my '06 325i. As someone else had stated... there is no way in HELL you are getting at that circlip from under the car on ramps. I ended up puttin gthe gear change in reverse... popped the clip off from up top (since I had a new on in the lever kit I didn;t care if I lost it) then used needle nose pliars to put the new clip on the new lever through the balljoint hole. Had I done it this way from the get go... I'd have had it done in less than 30 minutes. I spent too much time putting the car on ramps and removing the lower panel only to find out I'd need to be 8 years old to slide under there.

Thanks so much for the DIY and all the info. I had asked the question regarding the performance shift arm in another thread but my question was answered here. I'll be tackling this project when my parts arrive.

This was pretty easy to do. One tip that could be helpful if you decide to put the car on ramps. Apply your floor jack at the front center location to raise the car body higher taking some weight off the suspension. You can get another 6 inches of clearance underneath by doing this. Also here is a pic comparing the stock 328i shifter (I have M-Sport if that matters) and the 330i shifter P/N 25110434219. What matters is the distance between the ball and the linkage.

I finished the install this morning, I did the shift arm as well. I had access to a lift so that made things a lot easier. Two tips for you guys tackeling this on your own. Getting the new shift arm is a PITA, but I came up with a solution that makes it easier. Take a tie-down and wrap it around the drive shaft twice. I had two guys pull to one side (drivers side) and I was able to push/slide the new shift arm up on the passenger side. The shaft probably only moved a couple of mm but that was enough. The second big thing that was even more of a PITA than the shift arm, was getting the shift bearing (#5 in the oem diagram) clipped back in to place. It was very hard to get the amount of leverage required to clip it in to place. I was fianlly able to get it in with the help of another guy, i held it in place while he pushed it in place with a large pry bar. All in all, the instuctions laid out in this post were excellant and it took about 2 hours. I love how the new shifter feels